FreedomDao

VIP

6 months ago

·

Edited

Recommended

I will update this review as I read, usually in a 50 chapter basis.

As of chapter 100 this novel shows up with 4 major things that separate it from the rest of the novels currently present at WW:

1 - It is full of poetry and actual depth, not like First Immortal of the Sword or Tome of Troubled times, and instead a lot like the old Desolate Era.

2 - The Power scale is detailed(chap 100: not as well as I'd hope, however I still think it might get better as the novel goes on), at least way more than the average cultivation novel that is something like: oh I have 9000 more QI now I'll change from golden banana to blue pineapple, and instead at least has some explanation to it's power level.

3 - There is no indirect info dumping. What do I mean? See: in most other cultivation novels(usually the bad ones or the harem ones) the character is a nobody and for some reason has no context of the world, even down to the basics of what is cultivation, so they introduce some random character to explain the whole cultivation system in one go, which usually comes off as boring or makes the power system extremely limited. In this novel, the world itself is being gradually expanded into a full picture, little by little. There are entire sections that are dedicated to explaining some things, but instead of coming off as annoying dialog(for further understanding: I'm talking about AR, and literally all harem novels in this website), they usually use a journal-like method of explaining that is very direct, and usually very short. chap 100: About this point... honestly I still stand by this, however there are some people who might think that the actual direct info dumping the author does is bad. I quite enjoy it., to be honest

4 - This translator is brave. They dare to use new formatting instead of just plain text and it honestly makes a huge difference in the readability and immersion of the story. I had a small beef with the color purple(some of you might've seen it) but otherwise this translator is out here doing god's work and I hope to see more novels from them. If you wanna know what I'm talking about, look no further than chapter 1, or if you really want to understand what I mean, look at chapter 27. chapter 100: still 100% stand by this

edit no 3: minor spoiler, but based on something that might be interesting to know. Even though the novel is Chinese, chapter 50 seems to imply that the world is divided not only in factions but also cultures, and one of those factions is very clearly modeled as the Catholic Church, even going as far as mentioning 'the Devil' and vampires......

edit no. 1: I'm hopeful. However I don't dare be too hopeful. this is a review currently at just 30 chapters, and honestly martial gods ascension (the 4000 chapters horrible paced novel) was pretty cool at 30 chapters. I'll wait and see before I turn it into a full blown good review.

Slumcon

VIP

6 months ago

Not recommended

As much as I want to keep reading, I made the mistake of believing other reviews that the info dumps weren't so bad. Yes there are indirect information dumps. Multiple times before chapter 30 have characters blurted out information the person they are talking to should already know. It felt in no way natural.

Yes there are loads of direct information dumps. In no way was the information "slowly revealed over time". No, it hits you like a truck every chapter with paragraph after paragraph of information.

Example not related to the story to avoid spoilers: imagine asking someone what a countertop is made from and instead of just saying "marble" they proceed to tell you an area where marble is quarried. They then give a brief overview of the area's history. Following this they tell you how the team doing the quarrying is structured and how the marble is stored and transported. Afterward they tell you the average condition of the seas the marble is being shipped through and what nautical almanacs are. Maybe they'll explain import/export tariffs and how the currency works across multiple countries. It's not enough by this point so they MUST tell you about traffic laws and the specifics of pedestrian safety in the area of a workshop where the marble is shaped.

All you wanted to know was "marble" but the conversation can finally move on so you ask about the coffee maker on the counter BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! THE COFFEE BEANS COME FROM COLUMBIA AND...

This is how it feels to read. Not every little piece of information has to be displayed but as time goes on the headache I get from trying to retain relevant information to the story just gets bigger from reading information not necessary for understanding of the situation.

For instance: telling me about a location, the mountains there, the halls and palaces there, the hierarchy of the people there, the groups of their factions, and the people present only to focus on 3 or 4 people for a meeting taking place there and moving on.

Additionally, this story is good but suffers from common web Novel issues such as info dumps in the middle of conversation and action scenes.

Rather than getting immersed in the story and world building that is actually fantastical, I get headaches from picking through information that isn't relevant to the scene.

Have I repeated myself many times by now? Yes. I wanted to convey the feeling I got reading.

TLDR: good story, great translation and style, dogs*** execution from the author.

Takeoutchicken

VIP

6 months ago

Recommended

The story is very well written and translated, and has an authenticity to it that points to a great deal of research on the author’s side. The plot is engaging, but is still only emerging at this point. There is a hint of a large conflict on the horizon but the story begins with the opening moves of it coming to from silent conflict in the background to the foreground. And I really like how the characters are clearly a product of the in-story environment. That is to say, they are still recognizably Xianxia characters but the story is set in a sort of earth world where there is pervasive influence of the western world in their version of ancient China (with guns). Also, the culture is not as offensive to modern sensibilities so it is easier to empathize with the characters. Unlike one other review, the motivations of the MC, as well as other characters is quite clear and at the same time complex and changing, very realistic. No 2D characters whatsoever, good period-style dialogue, internally consistent logic. 10/10 from me, looking forward to reading more and hoping the quality of both the writing and translation remains the same.

A Pawn's Passage

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